A field of seven pacing fillies, including the darling of the morning trials, Rainbow Room, comprise the first two-year-old race of the 2017 season as Race 3 this Friday (June 23) at the Meadowlands Racetrack.
Rainbow Room has impressed onlookers and delighted her connections with a pair of effortless wins during recent ‘baby races’ at the Meadowlands Racetrack. Her first appearance was on June 3 where she toured the oval in the day's fastest of 1:55 and social media lit up with superlatives. She returned last Saturday with a similar effort, as she closed out her 1:55.2 win with a :26.4 final quarter under no encouragement from driver David Miller.
By Somebeachsomewhere and out of Rainbow Blue, both multiple award winners, Rainbow Room clearly possesses the championship gene. She was bred by Vieux Carre Farms and Steve Jones and was a $100,000 purchase from the 2016 Lexington Selected Yearling Sale by Crawford Farms, Val D'Or Farms and Ted Gewertz, who placed her with trainer Joe Holloway.
Holloway has trained plenty of champions, including some of the sport's best filly pacers, most notably the fastest ever in Shebestingin. Holloway recognized early on that Rainbow Room had the potential to follow in that tradition and has now set her on that course.
Her Friday competition will include several others that have impressed during morning trials, including KJs Bekah who was a good second to Rainbow Room on June 17 and has raced well in both of her qualifiers. The American Ideal lass was plucked from the Lexington sale by Kenny Jacobs for $140,000 and is trained by Linda Toscano. Tim Tetrick has the drive.
All On Top Hanover is from the first crop of Betterthancheddar and has been an easy winner in her pair of qualifying efforts for trainer Erv Miller and driver Marcus Miller. She was a bargain buy from last year's Goshen Yearling Sale, as she only cost Miller and partners Ron Michelon and GT Golemes a mere $14,000.
The Meadowlands will offer a ten-race program Friday that will get underway at 7:15 p.m.
(Meadowlands Racetrack)